Cross information 17yr old penalty fare

[queenduter]

So I'm confused as to the reason of this penalty fare. He showed his ticket 8 day flexi for GA trains 16-17 rail card but have since realised he has a 16- 25. He showed both and we thought the pe alty was for boarding a GN train with a GA ticket. This is what the penalty notice suggests ro me and the photo on the appeal letter. Am I reading this wrong? I appealed with this in mind and not the rail card.they have paused the appeal because I haven't shown the rail card as evidence. Because I didn't think I needed to.
But if I do show the rail card, it will be the wrong one (I've since bought the correct 16-17)
Long story short i bought a 16-25 with vlubcard points instead of the 16-17, i asked network rail to see if they could chnage it, but they said they could only cancel it and i get the correct one. Now I completely forgot to sort it (I'm blaming my adhd) and have been buying my sons tickets with the 16-17. Im.now really worried if I carry on with the appeal that they can look into all the tickets and I'll end up going to court. Im barely financially able to pay for the minimum fine let alone backdated tickets and court fines.is it best just to pay up or continue with the appeal being invorrect ly issued?
Date

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Dec 2025 ==

So I'm confused as to the reason of this penalty fare. He showed his ticket 8 day flexi for GA trains 16-17 rail card but have since realised he has a 16- 25. He showed both and we thought the pe alty was for boarding a GN train with a GA ticket. This is what the penalty notice suggests ro me and the photo on the appeal letter. Am I reading this wrong? I appealed with this in mind and not the rail card.they have paused the appeal because I haven't shown the rail card as evidence. Because I didn't think I needed to.
But if I do show the rail card, it will be the wrong one (I've since bought the correct 16-17)
Long story short i bought a 16-25 with vlubcard points instead of the 16-17, i asked network rail to see if they could chnage it, but they said they could only cancel it and i get the correct one. Now I completely forgot to sort it (I'm blaming my adhd) and have been buying my sons tickets with the 16-17. Im.now really worried if I carry on with the appeal that they can look into all the tickets and I'll end up going to court. Im barely financially able to pay for the minimum fine let alone backdated tickets and court fines.is it best just to pay up or continue with the appeal being incorrect ly issued?

 

[Kite159]

A 16-17 Saver gives a higher discount (50%) and can be used for season tickets. A 16-25 railcard is only a 33% discount (and can't be used for season tickets).

 

[z444z]

Now I completely forgot to sort it (I'm blaming my adhd) and have been buying my sons tickets with the 16-17. Im.now really worried if I carry on with the appeal that they can look into all the tickets and I'll end up going to court. Im barely financially able to pay for the minimum fine let alone backdated tickets and court fines.is it best just to pay up or continue with the appeal being invorrectly issued?

You’re lucky to have been issued a penalty fare, TOC’s very often take details for prosecution in this scenario and it ends up costing many times more if there are past tickets on record.

It used to be clear that prosecution was barred where the first stage of the penalty fare appeals process had been concluded, but a Chief Magistrate ruling allowing such a prosecution earlier this year has made it less clear and train companies may try their luck prosecuting in this scenario. So paying the penalty fare would be the only way to guarantee criminal prosecution can’t happen.

They might also decide to pursue the penalty fare as a civil debt, and possibly the historic fares too. We have seen some companies start to do this recently though I can’t recall if GTR are one.

The penalty fare looks correct and I’d suggest paying it is the best way to make this go away.

 

[WesternLancer]

You’re lucky to have been issued a penalty fare, TOC’s very often take details for prosecution in this scenario and it ends up costing many times more if there are past tickets on record.

It used to be clear that prosecution was barred where the first stage of the penalty fare appeals process had been concluded, but a Chief Magistrate ruling allowing such a prosecution earlier this year has made it less clear and train companies may try their luck prosecuting in this scenario. So paying the penalty fare would be the only way to guarantee criminal prosecution can’t happen.

They might also decide to pursue the penalty fare as a civil debt, and possibly the historic fares too. We have seen some companies start to do this recently though I can’t recall if GTR are one.

The penalty fare looks correct and I’d suggest paying it is the best way to make this go away.

I tend to agree with this.

You don’t really want anything about misuse of a 16-17 railcard discount being investigated because the outcome of that would cost more than £50. Potentially significantly more depending on how often it was used and the length of journey.